Namibia: Walvis Bay sale of an invaluable toy car collection

Bay Auctioneers’ sale of a toy car collection on Walvis Bay has gone viral. The group was made in a span of nearly 30 years.

The car toy collection comprises of over 3000 invaluable collectors’ items. Some toys even date back as far as 70 years of age. Toy car collector and maker Zaher Satar has valued the toy car collection at an estimated N$600 000. Zaher Satar has been assisting in cataloging the car toys for auction.

A recent Facebook post on the auctioneers’ page received worldwide recognition. Many people across the globe are calling for the auction to be stopped as they are interested in purchasing the whole collection set. Zaher Satar said that they had already sold almost 300 toys. The auction sales are being conducted on first-come-first-serve. Zaher revealed that while the collection had received worldwide interest, many did not turn up or pay for the toys. Others were paying immediately prompting them not to display the purchased car toys.

Many of the toy cars are still in good quality as they are made of iron. They have genuine parts which are still functional, from the engines to the upholstery. Zaher said that they were careful not to damage their paint and material thus handling them in gloves. The collection was sold to the auctioneers by an undisclosed collector. The collector also sold other items obtained from other major collectors.

Zaher said that the collection was invaluable as putting a price on such items was very difficult. Enthusiasts and serious collectors were determined to acquire the things to add to their own collections.

Quintin Jonck from Bay Auctioneers said that almost all possible designs and models of real vehicles were in the collection. The toys include the earthmoving cars under the Caterpillar brand. Popular models of real cars like the Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Audi, Ferrari, Ford and others make up the toy collection. Others that are going quickly are old classics, trucks, race cars and bakkies.